Sterling Beginnings
by NotSoGoldenTrio
Summary: Three Hogwarts students learn who they are and the roles they play in the world around them. There is no easy choice between good and evil as everything seems to be a shade of gray.
1. Prelude

A cold wind blew, rustling the leaves of the trees and bushes surrounding the small cabin. A shadow emerged through the doorway cloaked by the darkness provided by the new moon. Olivia looked back at her home of thirty years one last time before mounting her broom and lifting off. The house was empty with only the larger pieces of furniture remaining. Well that and a corpse that would lead all to believe she had died. The rest of her possessions rested securely on her shoulders in her enchanted bag.

Apparition would be the quicker mode of escape but it was far too risky in her condition. The baby could be harmed. A tear fell to the earth as she thought of how Salizar would never know that she would one day soon give birth to his child. That was how it had to be though. She would not let him force his prejudiced views on the babe. Before speeding off she looked back one last time lifting her wand. " Incendio" with that the cabin erupted in flames that would destroy everything before the authorities could even arrive.

London passed silently below as she flew toward Dublin. They would be safe in Dublin for near 11 years and by then she would have a plan as to where to go next for the child's education far from Hogwarts. Salizar would surely recognize his own child after all. If things went according to plan within a few years it would be as though the Blastiline name had always existed. As generations passed the family's history was passed off as a family myth instead of fact. After all, who wants to admit that they share a bloodline with one of the darkest wizard of the age' let alone farther down the line be connected to Lord Voldemort himself.


	2. Meet Roxy

**Chapter one**

 **Welcome home**

 _*Roxy*_

Kings Cross was filled to the brim once more. Families all bustled past each other in a rush to get to a train that would take them where they wanted to go. Street musicians were scattered among the masses attempting to make a few dollars from those passing by. Mixed among the hordes of people a small family of three hurried toward platforms 9 and 10. One mother trying to keep both raven haired children within her sights.

Rocsaria Blastiline was in a mixed state of excitement and terror. She was finally going to her new school. Her parents had told her so many stories of Hogwarts that she felt like she was going to a place from a storybook, like Cinderella's castle. Baylin, her big brother, had come home with stories of his own the past three summers. He was now a hotshot fourth year it seemed and a knowledge hungry Ravenclaw to the core. Roxy had pulled as much information as she could but he was a teenager and too busy for his kid sister most days. Her brother was currently running as far ahead as his mother would allow him to get. No doubt he was excited to meet back up with his friends. Roxy just hoped she would be as lucky as Baylin was and make friends quickly. Most of the purebloods her family associated with were a year older. Draco, Pansy, Blaise; all second years and all too old for her. She was hoping that she could find Daphne Greengrass. Although they were a year apart they had always gotten along.

Jessica yelled after Baylin once more but gave up when she saw him collide with the young Latus boy and his mother. She gave a short wave as a hand off to the other mother who simply smiled back in understanding. She looked down at her small daughter and couldn't believe it was already time to let her go. It was too soon. She wasn't ready for no buffer between Daniel and herself. Switching her train of thought she looked once more at Rocsaria.

"That will be you next year. Running off and leaving me behind." A smile eased the sadness of the words spoken, slightly.

"I'll never leave you behind momma." Roxy said as she trotted happily looking around. No matter how many times she had been here to drop Baylin off she would always be amazed by how different every one of these people were. She didn't notice however, the tears that filled her mother's eyes at her words.

As they reached the pillar separating nine and ten Roxy stopped to stare in wonder. It was finally her turn. Jessica eased Roxy toward the barrier gently and smiled as wide eyes met hers.

"This part you do on your own, to prove you can. I'll be right behind you. Promise." Jessica assured her as she nudged her once more toward the wall. Roxy took a deep breath as she re-gripped the cart. Copying her brother, she walked hastily at the wall and passed easily through into the bustling chaos of platform 9 ¾. Baylin was still in sight as he was used to his mother demanding a hug before he departed to school. Roxy made room and then turned to watch her mother appear. Jessica's smile was brilliant as she grabbed up her little girl who was no longer so little.

"This is the start of the most amazing adventure you will ever go on. It's going to be hard work and fantastic fun. Write me every week to tell me all about it, okay?" Jessica waited for Rocsaria's nod before hugging Baylin just as tight. For all his big talk he matched her hug and kissed her cheek.

"We'll see you at Christmas. No crying this time, alright?" Baylin said as he pulled away only to see Jessica's eyes were filled with tears and some had already begun the trip down her face. He shook his head with a smile, giving up that losing fight. This was just how his mother was.

"You know better than that. I will see you at Christmas and I'll be counting down the days. Now off you go. Don't want to miss the train. And Baylin! I'm sure you don't need to be told but I'm going to tell you anyway. You take care of your sister." Baylin simply laughed and nodded before leading Roxy to drop off her cart. They waved one last goodbye before boarding the train that would take them to Hogwarts.  
"Baylin? Do you think we'll be in the same house? We are family and families usually end up together, right?" Roxy babbled as they boarded the train. The isle way was busy with chatting students, old and new. The surplus of emotions and new people were intoxicating to Roxy as she felt out each person she passed. Each one was like a high for her with the overload of excitement coming off of each individual that she passed.  
"Bloody hell, use your brain. Are we anything alike? Anything at all? And start blocking like mum's been teaching you. Your eyes are getting glassy from all the feelings you're taking in." Rolling his eyes he continued pressing through the crowd of students in search of his friends. Roxy's brow furrowed as she attempted to do as he said. She gained a little bit of distance but she still wasn't as good as she needed to be. She still got hit every now and then by a particularly strong emotional wave. She tried to distract herself by once more attacking Baylin with questions.  
"But if I'm not in Ravenclaw with you I'll be all alone." His heavy sigh told her she was being bothersome but she couldn't help it. She was worried and needed reassurance.  
"Possibly. You're definitely not a Hufflepuff, but you may be a Gryffindor. You get into everyone's business enough. But you're most likely going to end up in Slytherin like everyone else we know. Thus, you will know everyone. Try not to be a prude though. Make friends with people from other houses. My best mates are in Gryffindor. School friends anyway." Roxy was somewhat comforted by his words and began fervently praying to be in Slytherin. Baylin's eyes flashed in recognition and a smile crossed his face before he turned back to his kid sister. "I'm going to go sit with my friends now. Go find your own." And just like that he disappeared into the compartment securing the door shut behind him.  
Steeling herself Roxy began searching the compartments for familiar faces. She smiled as she finally spotted a group of Slytherin's she knew from parties thrown. She stood tall trying to emit an air of maturity as she entered the compartment of second years. All eyes turned to her and she smiled a greeting. Draco, Pansy, and Crabb sat on one side while Goyle and Blaize sat on the other. Roxy was met by other smiles until she laid eyes on Draco. His face was painted with a sneer. It was hard to believe they had been best friends not long ago.  
"Blastiline. This compartment is for confirmed Slytherins, not unsorted first years. Why don't you go find somewhere else to be?" Roxy scowled slightly before returning to her proper persona. She started to turn away but stopped at the sound of Blaize's voice.  
"Now come on Draco. You can't expect her to go from hanging out with us all summer to being treated like some nobody. You know as well as we do that she'll be sorted into Slytherin so stop acting like such a jerk. Come on Rox. We've got an open seat right here." Roxy eyed the obviously furious Draco but took the seat beside Blaize anyway. These were her friends just as much as they were his and she had just as good blood status as he did. The group chatted and joked all the way to Hogwarts, only pausing to change into their school robes. Pansy reassured her that her tie and badge would change after the sorting. They all departed together and Blaize gave her a firm pat on the shoulder as they split paths. The older students went towards the self-drawn carts while the first years followed the giant of a man towards an army of rickety boats.  
Roxy entered the castle in awe with her fellow first years. Some of the students had already made fast friends and chattered excitedly to themselves. Roxy stayed quiet, not quite ready to make new friends yet. As they were lead into the great hall by a woman, who must be Mcgonagall that Baylin was always talking about, Roxy stared amazed by the ceiling bewitchment. They reached the front of the hall and waited patiently, sort of, for the hat to finish. Roxy didn't hear a word the hat was saying as she was too busy searching the room for familiar faces. When that was fruitless she turned her attention to the teachers trying to name them by descriptions she had heard from both Baylin and her Uncle Thomas. She knew Snape from occasional gatherings held at the Malfoy manor. The headmaster was easy to spot as he was at the center of everything. Before she could continue with her game she heard her name called and made her way to the stool and took a seat. As the hat was placed on her head it began to speak just as Baylin had said it would.  
"Awe, the other heir has arrived at last. Olivia truly hid her secrets well. Salazar would be proud of this line. Hopefully you will fulfill his dream of greatness and to achieve that you will need to be… Slytherin!" Roxy sat in a state of confusion before making her way to the Slytherin table where Pansy and Blaize clapped the loudest. Roxy smiled halfheartedly as she sat down. Heir? Salizar? What!? She searched the Ravenclaw table for Baylin and found him staring at her. He held a finger up to his mouth to keep her quiet and she nodded her understanding. He returned the nod, relaxing just a touch, before mouthing 'After'. He then returned his focus to the other first years as a small white haired boy stepped up to the stool.


	3. Meet Iarus

_*Iarus*_

(Pronunciation/Language notes: Beorthram is BOR-thram; _liebchen_ is leeb-chin and means sweetheart; _Vati_ and _Mutti_ are father and mother, respectively)

"Iar-us! Time to get up!"

Marabell pounced on the couch that had served as Iarus' bed for the past few days, surprised to find him not in it. It was the end of August and the Beorthram family had spent the weekend in London, both as an early celebration of Iarus' birthday and as a last family trip before he boarded the train for Hogwarts. Marabell had managed to be the first one awake each day. She would squirm free from the space between her still-sleeping parents, crawl out the foot of the bed, and then wake Iarus. But this day, this Tuesday morning, he wasn't there.

She found him sitting on the bathroom floor. He was already wearing his school clothes, minus the black robes, and had a leather bound book open on his lap. The point of his wand followed the words along the page as he mouthed the words in English. That had been one of the rules of the trip, and a hard one to follow at that. Everyone had to speak English -and only English- unless there was absolutely no way they could find the right words. It was to help Iarus get used to being surrounded by his non-native language.

" _Gu_ -Good mornink. I couldn't sleep." Iarus looked up from his book. "At all. Did you need the...WC?" That was the proper English term for the toilet, wasn't it?

Marabell shook her head and leaned over to read what Iarus was studying. Her loose dark curls rested on his shoulders. While she could read English as well as she could speak it, doing so upside down proved to be a bigger challenge than the 10-year-old could manage. "What book is this?" She asked after a moment.

" _Magical Theory_ , by," Iarus flipped back to the first few pages, "Adalbert Vaffling. It is how magic works, like how _Onkle_ studies muggle science."

"Sounds boring." Marabell straightened and turned to the small pedestal sink. She brushed her hair gently, coaxing the night's knots from her dark brown curls so that her mother wouldn't do it later.

"Only because you don't care about how and vhy things happen." Iarus grumbled. He pulled his feet under him and stood. At twelve, almost thirteen, Iarus was sure that he would be one of the tallest and oldest students in his year. As if he didn't stick out enough with dual-colored eyes and a German accent. He scowled at his reflection. He had been looking forward to this day for three years, but now he wanted to go back to his bed in Germany and wait for another year to pass. Then he would have Marabell to be friends with at school, instead of being completely on his own.

But he'd never tell her that.

He brushed his teeth and passed a comb through his still freshly cut gray hair. Aunt Kaitlin had insisted that she cut it before they left home, and now it barely covered his ears and itched at the back of his neck where his shirt collar rubbed. _At least no one can take pictures at Hogwarts._ He thought.

As though she had been summoned by his thoughts, Aunt Kaitlin appeared in the bathroom doorway. "Good morning you two. You are up quite early." Her English was perfect, and Uncle Gerand's just a step behind, her accent causing the words to lilt pleasantly. She hugged her children gently and kissed Iarus on the crown of his head. "I expected you to sleep in as long as possible today. The train does not leave until eleven o'clock."

"I was too excited to sleep." Iarus leaned his head against her shoulder. A knot formed in his stomach unexpectedly and he croaked out a whisper as he looked at his aunt in the mirror. "I'm going to miss you..."

"Oh, _liebchen_ , I'll miss you too." She kissed his hair again, hugging him tighter for a moment. "You have so much to learn, and you will make friends, and go to Quidditch games, you will hardly even think of us after a few weeks. I promise. You will be just fine. Now, shall we wake your Uncle and have some breakfast?"

Kaitlin swept out of the bathroom, her lavender housecoat flaring in her wake. Iarus and Marabell caught each other's eye in the mirror, stuck out their tongues at the reflection, then rushed after her. They pounced on the bed. Gerand's snore cut short as they landed.

"You've fallen into my trap!" His broad arms constricted, one around each giggling child, and pulled them against his chest. "Now that I have you, do you know what I will do next?"

They knew the answer and struggled fruitlessly against his grip.

"Go back to sleep. Goodnight!" And Gerand began snoring once again. The rolling grumble rumbled between Mara and Iarus, right in their ears. Iarus gave up struggling. He knew the longer he fought, the longer the game would continue. Mara continued, her efforts punctuated with the occasional, " _Vati_! No!" and "It's time for breakfast, not sleeping."

Kaitlin sat on the edge of the bed and heaved a great sigh. "Well, if you can't get up, I suppose I'll just have to leave you all here and go get crepes by myself..."

The snores stopped abruptly once again. "Then again," Gerand sat up, bringing both children up with him, "raspberries are in season. Wake up, you two. It's time for breakfast." He shook the two gently, then let them flop to the bed. He made his escape to his suitcase and the bathroom to change.

"Cheat." Marabell grumbled. She sat up and combed her hair out with her fingers.

Iarus continued to lie on the bed until Gerand reappeared in his sight. The bathroom door closed behind Kaitlin as he sat down and began tying his shoes. Iarus sat up and sought out his own shoes and socks.

After having breakfast, Kaitlin had mentioned one last errand that she needed to run while in town and disappeared on her own. Iarus, Marabell, and Gerand packed up their hotel room, double checked Iarus' school list of books and equipment, then made their way to the station. The family was taking the floo back home once Iarus was aboard the Hogwarts Express.

As it was only his belongings, Iarus was tasked with pushing the cart with his trunk and bags. Gerand had placed everything else in a wallet which had been charmed to hold far more than Iarus' trunk. He only helped push when Marabell hopped onto the trunk to ride through the wall at Platform 9 and 3/4. Iarus picked up his feet, standing on the back of the luggage cart, and let Gerand propel them through the bricks.

Kaitlin was waiting on the other side. She had a domed package in her arms, hugging it gently to her chest. The cover was dark blue cloth, with an orange and green striped bow tied around it.

"What's that, _Mutti_?" Marabell asked from her perch.

"A gift, for Iarus. But, he has to promise something before he can have it." She winked. "You can only open it once the station is completely out of sight. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Iarus nodded. "I promise."

The platform was a whirl of excited students, tearful parents, trunks, and conversation. Iarus found himself aboard the train with his trunk stowed and the domed package on the seat beside him before he paused to think about it. He was leaving his family, his closest friend, and everything he knew to go to school.

There was still plenty of time before the train pulled out of the station; he and Gerand had passed several empty compartments with his cargo. Once he had picked one, Iarus said goodbye to his uncle, dug out his robes and a book, and settled in. Something in the package shifted. He had to deliberately ignore it.

His compartment slowly gained more people, but none of them spoke to him except to ask if he would move his cage. Without really looking up, Iarus moved it to rest between his feet. He wasn't ready to try to make friends.

The train lurched to life and began to chug along. Iarus kept his eyes on the page of his book, not actually reading it but staring at the letters, as the students around him settled into their seats and conversations. He tried to keep up with the discussion near him, just to try. There were so many variations on the English accent and slang just within a few minutes, though, that he mind swam as he struggled to understand most of it.

"Have you heard that Harry Potter didn't come back this year? He's not on the train."

"I wonder what happened to him."

"Maybe he's going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." They laughed. "Teach us all how to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, if he comes back again this year."

"Hey." The door opened and the laughter stopped. Iarus glanced up to see an older boy with a blue striped scarf and a Prefect's badge in the doorway. "Don't joke about that. Students almost died last year because of Quirrel and Potter's idiocy. I hope to Merlin that nothing happens this year. With or without Potter."

"Right." The compartment was soberly quiet until the Prefect had closed the door and moved on. A rattling thump startled the passengers, particularly Iarus - the covered cage between his feet had moved of its own accord.

Without a thought of their distance from the station, though it was far behind them now, Iarus pulled the cloth off of the cage. Slightly calmed, an owl stared up at him. It had two ear-like tufts atop its round head and orange eyes set in shadowy feathers.

" _Ach, hallo._ " Iarus gently lifted the cage onto his lap. The owl blinked at him. It shifted to reveal a lavender envelop beneath its feet. Iarus went to open the cage, just enough to slip his hand in, and the owl nipped at his fingertips. How did Aunt Kaitlin expect him to get the letter without bleeding on it first?

"You're no good with owls, are you?" The girl next to him crooned at the cage. "It's okay. We're your friends, little owl."

"I have never had one." Iarus admitted quietly. "I didn't know my aunt was buying me an owl..."

"Then you don't have any snacks for her. Here." She pulled a small bag from her own book bag and withdrew a morsel of dried meat. "It's not fresh, but she'll appreciate it. I'll open the cage and you give it to her, calmly."

He nodded and took the treat from the girl, not really looking up at her. She opened the latched door slowly. The owl hopped toward it, paused, then took another cautious step. Iarus felt its beak graze his skin as it took the morsel. It stepped away slightly to eat, and he chose to risk another bite to snatch the envelop out. Instead, the owl jumped back and puffed up as its footing was disrupted.

"That works." She closed the cage gently. "One step forward, two steps back. What's the note?"

"From my aunt." Iarus answered absentmindedly. He had opened the envelope and slipped out a card with flower petals that drifted across his aunt's tidy handwriting. She had written in German. It suddenly felt like their own secret code. No one else could read this letter but him. He smiled as he read.

The train arrived at dusk, students thrown gently forward as it ground to a surprisingly quiet halt. Iarus had been spending his time befriending his short-eared owl, named Erika by Aunt Kaitlin, with the help of the girl next to him. She had just begun allowing him to stroke the cream colored feathers on her chest with only the occasional nip at him.

A disembodied voice instructed students to leave their possessions on the train, and a giant of a man outside called for first years to separate themselves from the rest of the mass of students in black robes that were going toward carriages. Iarus was quietly glad that he wasn't going to be delivered by a team of skeletal horses. No one else seemed to even notice them. He chose not to draw attention to himself by saying anything.

A narrow path and small boats weren't much of an improvement, though. Iarus didn't have to look around to know that others felt as nervous as he did. He stepped into the first boat that he reached and wobbled onto a seat.

Then, and only then, did he look up across the water at Hogwarts proper. His eyes grew wide at the majesty of the stone castle, windows glowing and towers outlined by the starry sky. The severity of the reality struck him. He was going to be living in an ancient castle with a few hundred strangers for the better part of a year, learning from some of the best professors the wizarding world had to offer, surrounded by ghosts and magical forests and their own miniature Quidditch league. He was at Hogwarts.

Apprehension curled up in his stomach and began flexing its claws. Or maybe it was a touch of sea-sickness. He had never done well in boats, though this was definitely the smallest craft he'd been in. Someone asked if he was alright, said something about him being pale, but he only half heard them. Iarus twisted and threw up, leaving his snacks from the train in the dark water.

No one talked to Iarus, though there were certainly enough talking about him, the rest of the way to the Great Hall. He expected whispers for his abnormalities, so it came as a slight relief that he may first be known as the kid who puked in the lake. The mass of first years followed a stern looking woman into the Great Hall. She reminded Iarus of someone he had seen in old family portraits, glowering down in disapproval as he and Marabell had raced through the halls of the manor. He missed home already.

His homesickness was lost to wonder as he stepped through the heavy doors of the Great Hall. The room was cavernous, with a ceiling that looked like the night sky. Or was it the night sky? No, there were rafters up there. Iarus lowered his gaze and stopped his feet before bumping into the girl standing in front of him. He kept his focus forward. There would be plenty of time to gawk at the banners and floating candles and tapestries and…and what was he supposed to be doing?

A voice boomed out the name of a house, followed by applause and cheers, and then the stern woman called someone's name. Ach, sorting. Uncle Gerand had tried to explain the Sorting Hat to him, but he had described it as some manner of intelligent machine.

"Iarus Gerand Columbo."

The hat was dropped gently onto his head.

"Aren't you an interesting one?" The Hat murmured. "A bit jumbled up, more so than most your age, but you'll sort out just fine. In time."

Before Iarus could think of how to question a sentient hat -not a machine but one that was entirely intelligent on its own- it called "Hufflepuff" to the room and was whisked off of his head. His mussed hair practically shimmered as he rushed off to the table that was cheering the loudest. He tried to push it into place as he dropped into a seat and was clapped on the shoulder by a boy next to him.

Their eyes met and the boy, a fellow first year, laughed. "The Hat sure knows how to choose 'em. Name's Roy."

They could exchange few pleasantries while the others were being sorted, but fell easily into conversation after dinner appeared upon the tables. Roy didn't mind Iarus' halting English, and Iarus didn't mind Roy'ss complete lack of manners. Maybe making friends wouldn't be so difficult, after all.

The ceiling was soaked in the inky black of night by the time everyone had eaten their fill. Roy echoed Iarus' yawn, stretching his arms up and out. Iarus ducked and stifled a laugh as his new friend nearly socked a passing prefect. The older boy caught his hand and gave Roy a mock-startled look. "Forget 'Defense Against the Dark Arts,' we need 'Defense Against the First Years.'"

Roy's face flushed. Those around the boys joined in the laughter, including the Prefect. Thus, it startled Iarus when he barked, "First Year Hufflepuffs: form a line against the wall. Now."

Boys and girls from along the length of the table scrambled to stand against the wall across from the commanding prefect. Once they were gathered in a quiet, nervous line, he scowled. "Alphabetically."

Iarus pressed himself into the stones as those around him began hurriedly introducing themselves and changing places. His mind reeled with all of the names and unfamiliar voices.

"What's your name?" A short girl with blonde hair popped into his vision.

"I-Iarus Columbo-" He managed before:

"Yaruss. That's Y. You should go to the end of the line."

"But it's-" A thought struck Iarus. He looked at the prefect over the bossy girl's head. "By first or last name?"

The prefect laughed. "I was waiting for that. 2 points. Alphabetically by last name."

The new instructions were echoed through the group as they, again, introduced and rearranged themselves. Iarus ended up behind Roy once again. As it turned out, he and Roy were assigned to a dormitory room together, along with two other boys named Jason and Felix. There was an odd number of Hufflepuff first years, and an almost eerily empty bed in their room because of it.


	4. Meet Shannon

_*Shannon*_

The city blurred past as Shannon gazed out the taxi window. Sunlight bounced off the buildings and heads swiveled as people quickly scurried about. The ticket in her pocket was heavy. She nervously fingered it. Part of her actually worried if she didn't touch it, it would vanish. The cab stopped with traffic, waiting for the light to go. Subtly, Shannon touched her waist to feel the hardness of her wand. Her wand. She owned a wand. (length, wood, core, adjective). As the cab rolled on, Shannon tried to focus on her breathing. However, breathing became nearly impossible as King's Cross loomed into view. Shannon wanted her mum more than anything.

 _Closing her trunk, Shannon looked around her room. This was it. Pulling her trunk into the hallway, Shannon startled._

" _Mum! What are you doing?!" Dropping her hold on the trunk, she rushed to support her mother who was leaning heavily on the wall. "You shouldn't be out of bed."_

" _I'm alright, Shannon. I want to see you off." Mandy said, a smile marred by pain sat firmly on her lips._

" _No. Mum, you aren't well enough for that. C'mon. Back to bed." Shannon guided her mother back into the bedroom. With some effort, she got her mother back into bed._

" _I'm sorry." Mandy said, scarcely louder than a whisper._

" _Don't be." Shannon slipped of her mum's shoes and returned them to the closet._

" _You should have a parent see you off." Mandy teared up._

" _I rather get on that train knowing my mum is safe in bed. And dad, well. You know how his jobs are. He's always running about." Shannon sat on the edge of the bed._

 _Mandy cupped Shannon's cheek. "So strong and kind. Wherever did you get that from."_

" _No idea." She said dryly. Sharing a smile, Shannon pulled her mum's hand from her face to her lap. "Really, mum. I'll be okay. I'll send you an owl when I get there. I'll even write you every day."_

" _You will not." Mandy said firmly. "You will study and make friends. And have fun." Mandy squeezed Shannon's hand. "But maybe once a week you can think of dear old mum and dad."_

 _A car horn sounded twice and Shannon looked toward her trunk. Now that the cab was here, she wondered if she was ready._

" _I expect that's for me." Shannon said._

 _Mandy pulled Shannon to her and held her tight. "I love you, sweet pea." Kissing the top of her head, Mandy fought back the tears and pushed Shannon up._

 _With a quick peck on her mother's cheek, Shannon dashed back into her room. Siam was sitting in her cage, glaring at her._

" _Shannon?" Mandy called, an edge to her voice._

" _Yeah?" Shannon held Siam's cage in one hand and righted her trunk in the other._

 _Mandy hesitated._

 _The cab honked again._

" _Mum? I gotta go. Rita will be here soon and Keith is still asleep, But he won't stay that way if the driver keeps beeping."_

" _I'll miss you… but promise not to worry about me or miss us too much. Have fun."_

 _Shannon steadied the trunk and put Siam down. She rushed back into mum's room and hugged her tight._

" _And you work on getting better. I love you." Shannon pulled away and hurried to her belongings. She flew to her luggage and made her way to the front door. A small gift bag with her name on it was hanging on the doorknob. Stopping long enough to pop it in her trunk, fought back tears. "Bye, mum! See you at Christmas!" She quickly rushed out the door._

"Happy travels, little miss." The cabby said, closing the boot.

"Thank you." Shannon handed him the money, but before he took it he held up a finger.

"One tick, love." The man approached a woman and her husband coming from the station. They stopped pushing their luggage cart to speak to the driver. They were out of earshot, but the woman looked to Shannon and smiled. The three of them made their way toward the cab. The man and woman climbed in the back while the driver quickly shuffled their luggage into the boot. Without offering an explanation, the man quickly loaded Shannon's belongs onto the trolley.

"This'll be a might easier for you to get to your train, little miss."

"Thank you!" Shannon beamed and handed him the money.

Within minutes, she was right where Professor Snape had told her to go, at the barrier between 9 and 10. He told her to go through the wall, but as far as she could tell the wall was solid brick.

"Out of the way." A brisk, hushed voice commanded.

Startled, Shannon moved aside. A tall blonde man and his son strode past her.

"First years." The boy muttered and strolled through the barrier, his father right behind him.

Shannon couldn't help but gape as the wall swallowed them up and they disappeared.

"—terrible on my nerves—"

"I know, Gran."

"—filthy place! Oh, do hurry, Neville!"

Shannon found a strange woman and meek boy hurrying toward her.

"Are you sure you sure you can manage from here?" The old woman asked.

"Yes, Gran." The boy called Neville replied.

"Very well." She stood silent for a moment, then hugged the boy tightly. "Be safe. I love you."

"I love you, too." Neville said.

"And I don't want any bed letters from your professors this year! Keep your grade up in Snape's class."

"Yes, Gran."

And just like that, the woman hurried off. The boy pushed his trolley next to Shannon's.

"Hi." Neville said, cheeks pink.

"Hi." Shannon echoed.

"First time?" Neville asked.

"Yeah…" Shannon looked back at the wall.

"You got a name?" Neville asked.

"Shannon."

"Neville." He gestured to the wall, "Go on. I'll follow. Just run at it. It's easier than you think, I promise."

Shannon nodded and positioned her cart. Gritting her teeth, she barreled forward. The area around her transformed around her before suddenly depositing her on a platform outside. She slowed her pace and stared in wonder at the scarlet train before her. White smoke billowed from the stack as families milled about, saying their farewells.

"See?" Neville said. "Easy!" He pushed his cart past her.

Shannon suddenly felt as though she was being watched. She glanced around the platform discretely, until she made eye contact with the blonde man from earlier. He was looking at her strangely, almost as if he knew her and was trying to place where they had met. But Shannon was certain she didn't know this man. She looked back to the train, looking to see where the other students were going. Looking back, the man was still staring at her, only this time his expression seemed… intense, scrutinizing. On impulse, Shannon stuck her tongue out at him. She smirked at the incredulous look on his face. Shannon pushed her luggage toward the train. _Oh, yes_ , Shannon thought, _I'll be just fine, mum._

Finding a seat was proving difficult. So many compartments were already filled with talking students. She moved passed a compartment which housed only two boys, playing with a camera and chattering at a rapid pace. Shannon did not have the energy for them. Pushing on, she saw the boy from earlier, Neville. He smiled at her and gave a wave. She nodded her head, as her hands were full and hesitated. Then she them moved on. Maybe she'd luck out and find an empty one.

"Shannon? Right?"

She turned around and saw Neville in the doorway of his compartment.

"Come sit in here everywhere else is probably full by now."

"I don't want to be in the way of your friends." Shannon said.

Neville stepped forward and took her trunk. "That's the benefit of being me. I don't have many. So there's always room for more." He went back into the compartment and Shannon smiled. A friend? Shannon followed him into the cabin and sat across from him, her cat in the cage beside her.

"Nice cat. What's its name?"

"Siam." Shannon glanced around. "I guess you don't have a pet?"

"Oh! I do." Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out a toad. "This is Trevor."

The door slid open and two girls entered.

"Hey, Neville. Mind if Ginny sits in here with you? Harry and Ron seem to have disappeared and I want to look for them."

"Sure thing, Hermione." Neville said.

The redhead sat next to Siam and smiled at Shannon.

"This is Shannon. She's new this year, too."

"What house do you hope to get into?" Ginny asked.

"Oh… Um." Shannon shrugged. "Wherever I end up? What about you?"

"I want to be in Gryffindor. My whole family has been in it."

"I love Gryffindor, but Hufflepuffs are great too, Ginny." Neville said.

"So long as it's not Slytherin I'm happy. But I highly doubt I'll get into Ravenclaw. If Percy couldn't, there's no way I can."

The train lurched to life and parents called and waved from the platform. Students hung out of windows to wave goodbye. Shannon switched places with Ginny so she could waved to her parents. Shannon thought of her mum and hoped she wasn't arguing with Rita. They'd be friends from primary, but her mum was stubborn and Rita was pushy. Once they were clear of the station, the three fell into comfortable conversation. They spoke of their home lives and family. Neville gave them a rundown on the classes and professors, tips and tricks for succeeding at Hogwarts.

"And whatever you do, don't get on Snape's bad side." Neville said with a shudder.

"My brothers told me about him. He's supposed to be the hardest teacher at Hogwarts." Ginny looked concerned.

"They're right." Neville agreed.

"Isn't he the Head of Slytherin?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah. McGonagall is the Head of Gryffindor, Sprout is Hufflepuff, and Flitwick is Ravenclaw." Neville said.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Neville and Shannon bought sweets. Even though she knew it was foolish, Shannon bought more than she ought to. Who knew when she'd have the chance to stock up on sweets? She put most of it in her trunk, but kept the beans and Peppermint Toads out. After all, her mum always said sharing made you friends. She offered them both some of her sweets. After a bit of munching, Neville excused himself to go change into his school robes. Shannon took the opportunity of silence to start a letter to her mum. Ginny pulled out a journal, tucking her feet under her, they settled into silence.

When Neville got back, Shannon went to change. There was a bit of a wait, but Shannon didn't mind. It gave her a chance to see what houses the other students were in. While Neville had commented on Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs being nice, Shannon noticed all the girls coming and going were smiling, laughing, and talking. To each other. Same house, different houses, it didn't seem to matter.

Once changed, Shannon made her way back to the compartment. The girl named Hermione had joined the group. Her Gryffindor robes were already on. Ginny slipped out to change and Shannon went back to her letter. Neville and Hermione were talking about their friends. Shannon assumed it wasn't rude, as Ginny went right back to her journal when she sat back down.

When the castle came into view, Shannon and Ginny stared. It was beautiful in the dusk lighting. The sky glowed orange and pink and the lake reflected the soft light. It was like a fairy tale, Shannon decided. Suddenly, all of her fears evaporated. This was going to be the start of a wonderful adventure.

The train pulled into the station, and Hermione started to tell the two girls where to go to get to the boats, but before she could finish, a disembodied voice instructed them to leave their belongings and pets on the train. Then it told the first years where to go. Once the announcement finished, the group left the train. Hermione and Neville parted ways with Shannon and Ginny. Shannon stared after them, startled by the horses. What were those things?! No one else looked at them, so she assumed, despite their creepy appearance, this must be normal. Yet another Wizard World convention to adjust to…

A huge man at least five times the size of herself toward over them.

"Alright, first yers. Off to the boats! Keep up!" He crowed.

Ginny and Shannon shared a smile and followed the man down the narrow path. The little boats didn't look like they could support the man, but soon enough, the group was making its way across the vast lake. Everyone in their boat was silent. Ginny sat next to her, and two boys sat in front of them. The one boy looked as if he had grey hair.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked the grey haired boy, leaning toward him. "You look pale."

The boy leaned over the side of the boat and threw up.

Shannon suppressed a gag and looked away. _Well, that will be memorable._ She was quickly distracted by the castle looming ahead. It was even more breathtaking this close up. This was now home. She couldn't fully wrap her head around the idea.

The journey across the lake and up the narrow stairs to the castle seemed to take an eternity. The nerves that had abandoned her on the train were back in full force. What if she didn't get sorted into any of the houses? What if this had all been a mistake? What would happen if she couldn't be placed? Would they just toss her into some random house? Would she choose? Would she be sent home? Maybe Ginny and she would end up in the same house. Gryffindor didn't seem that bad.

The group was lead into the castle, through huge doors. The large man took them right to the stairs where a severe looking woman in green robes stood.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor, Deputy Headmistress, and your Transfigurations professor. In a few moments, I will lead you through these doors, into the Great Hall and sorted into your houses. You have to be sorted before you take your seats. There are four, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. It's important to remember that while here, your house will be like your family. Any triumphs will earn you points; any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. Are there any questions?"

The group murmured "no ma'am" and McGonagall nodded once.

"Very well. Let's begin."

The Great Hall doors swung open. Shannon's jaw dropped as she took in the view. Candles lined the ceiling, which looked like the night sky. Long wooden tables ran from the doors to the large stain glass window. Under the large window was another table, full of faculty. Shannon anxiously scanned the line but didn't see Professor Snape. Where was he?

When they made it to the far end of the hall, McGonagall stepped up on to the platform and gestured to a stool with an old hat on it.

"When I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will learn your proper house assignment." She turned and looked to the hat expectantly.

Shannon frowned. What could she possibly be—

"I'm the cleverest hat that ere there was!"

It was singing.

The hat was singing.

This was normal?!

Shannon glanced around. Most of the first years looked unsurprised but two looked equally as shocked as she did. She made eye contact with a small blonde boy and the two started laughing at the lunacy of it all. Shannon slapped her hand over her mouth.

" _Wow!"_ he mouthed, before covering his.

They both quickly looked down.

The hall clapped politely when the hat finished its tune. Shannon wondered if it sang the same song every time, or a new one every year?

McGonagall stepped next to it, and unrolled the scroll in her hands.

"Rocsaria Nicolette Blastiline." McGonagall called.

A dark haired girl made her way to the stool. When she sat down, McGonagall place the hat on her head. Confusion showed in her blue eyes but was quickly replaced by joy as the hat announced

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table erupted in applause.

"Iarus Gerand Columbo" McGonagall looked about the students.

The grey hair boat from her boat stepped forward. That hat barely sat in his head for a few seconds before it declared:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Again, the table shouted enthusiastically.

"Collin Creevey." McGonagall summoned.

The blonde boy Shannon had giggled about the hat with walked up. The hall laughed as he tripped on the step. Blushing, he quickly took his place on the stool. The hat sat a moment longer than it did on the last boy. But it finally said,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

That, Shannon decided, was the loudest table yet. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it sound like they had replicated the noise of a car crash.

Shannon watched as more students were sorted and the respective tables continued to cheer. Finally,

"Shannon Iris Noblette" McGonagall looked down to her.

"Go on." Ginny encouraged.

All sorts of thoughts spun around Shannon's head. Summoning what little courage she had, Shannon marched to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat upon her head, and it slipped right over her eyes.

"Well, well, well. You've Prince's blood in your veins. Remarkably like your father, the desire—the need—to prove your worth, you'll do well in... SLYTHERIN!"

The table cheered as McGonagall plucked the hat from her head. Shannon hopped off the stool, more than a little dazed and confused, but grinning at her welcoming applause. She quickly took an open seat at her table and a dark haired boy patted her back, welcoming her.

"Why bother putting it on her?" An older girl sitting diagonally from Shannon mocked. "Look at that hair! She's a Weasley. She's a Gryffindor."

"Ginerva Molly Weasley" McGonagall called.

"See? Just watch." She said.

Another Slytherin student laughed as the redhead took the stool. It barely touched her head before yelling:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Shannon's heart sank. Now everyone she had met up to this point was in Gryffindor. And, going off Neville's words, she had the feeling Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't get along very well…

As McGonagall cleared the stool from the stage, an old wizard, Shannon assumed to be Headmaster Dumbledore, took his place at a podium with a large gold eagle on it.

"Another lovely sorting ceremony. Welcome new students. Welcome returning students. As some of you may remember, at the end of last year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts position opened up—"

"Surprise, surprise." The boy who'd patted her back muttered.

"—year, please join me in welcoming the renowned, Professor Gildory Lockhart."

It did not escape her notice that the girls cheered much louder than the boys.

The man in question stood and posed like he was a model. He winked at the hall before sitting back down.

"Thank you." Dumbledore said. "Just a brief announcement and then the feast."

"Have you noticed Potter's missing?"

"Really?" The girl craned her neck.

"Yeah, look at Granger and Weasleys. He's not there." The boy answered.

"I heard he wasn't on the train either." A different girl piped up.

"Good. Maybe Lockhart won't melt like Quirrel did." The other girl said.

"He didn't melt, he just quit. Who could blame him? We all hated him." The boy said.

Shannon looked back to Dumbledore and realized she missed whatever the announcement was.

"And with that, let's eat!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together.

Food appeared before them. The older kids quickly dug in, but Shannon just stared. They could just make food appear? She helped herself to some chicken, potatoes, and peas... but left plenty of room for the great pumpkin pie sitting before her.


	5. Who Am I

**Chapter two**

 **Who am I?**

As the feast came to a close an older student came over introducing himself as one of the Slytherin prefects. As he asked them to stand and follow him to their dorms movement caught Roxy's eye. Her brother was making his way over to the prefect. She was astounded that he couldn't at least wait until after she was shown to here common room. Baylin pulled him to the side and started speaking in hushed tones. After what seemed like a strong debate the prefect shook his head and turned toward the awaiting first years, eyes landing on Roxy.

"Rocsaria Blastiline. You will stay behind with your brother who will show you to the dorms after his majesty finishes whatever it is he needs to talk to you about. The rest of you will follow me." Roxy's face turned an outstanding shade of red as her embarrassment took over. Was Baylin trying to ruin her on the first night of school? As her classmates left she turned a glare at her older brother and growled.

"What the bloody hell was that all about? Decided that I needed to play my first year in hard mode? Hmm?" Roxy asked fuming. When Baylin just cocked an eyebrow at her she released the anger on a breath. "So what was the hat going on about?" Baylin rolled his eyes and lead her to a more secluded part of the castle, away from listening ears. Once they were far enough away for Baylins comfort he turned toward her again.

"What did the hat say to you?" he asked far more serious than she was used to causing her to rethink everything the hat had said.

"It called me an heir and said Salizar would be proud. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. The weirdest part though was that it mentioned Olivia. Isn't that our families first known member?" Roxy asked. She had just pushed the hats words aside once the feast had begun, sure that Baylin would just tell her the hat had gone addled recently. However now she was concerned because her brother wouldn't be this serious about something of no importance. What if the hat was right? Could she really be an heir of Salizar himself?

"Yes, Olivia is the founder of the Blastiline name, and I use founder purposefully. The hat said a similar thing to me and I started researching the founders of Hogwarts. It turns out that Salizar was known to have a courtesan that he favored. Three guesses what her name was." Roxy sat amazed. She was a descendant of THE founder of Slytherin house. "Now, records report that Olivia died in a house fire but those same reports say that the remains were so badly burnt that there was no way of identifying the body. The only thing they found that made them feel certain it was her was the emerald choker that Salizar gave her was around the body's neck. I don't think it was Olivia's body. I think she faked her death and ran when she found out she was pregnant." Roxy shook herself out of her shocked state.

"Thats absurd. Why by all that is holy would she run from Salizar? She would have had a life filled with luxury and never wanted for anything. Why would she give that up and run away to, what? A fake life with no resources?" Roxy propped herself against the wall waiting for some sort of explanation. This was all just way too much.

"What if she didn't agree with his views on life? His views on muggles and muggle-borns? If she didn't agree that purebloods were superior she wouldn't want her child taught that they were. She would worry that they would take on his viewpoints and perpetuate the cycle of hatred. Thus she ran. I've done the research Roxy, it all adds up." He didn't go any farther, surely counting on Roxy's knowledge of him to work in his favor. Roxy had always known him to be logical, overly so usually. He would not go this far for a Joke.

"So we're heirs of Slytherin… Imagine Draco's face if he knew. He would be caught between being furious and trying to kiss our feet." Roxy said on a laugh that her brother didn't share. His eyes remained serious as he nailed her with a hard look.

"You tell no one! I have worked too hard to have no one find out about this and I won't have you blowing that to smithereens just because you want to be popular. This is serious. Olivia hid for a reason and last year some weird stuff started happening. We need to keep this quiet until I do more research. Understand?" Roxy nodded feeling like a reprimanded child. She had just been thinking out loud after all and had no real intention of telling Malfoy. Everyone and their families would know within the hour if he found out. Baylin gave a tired sigh before putting an arm around his little sister's shoulders and turning them both in the direction of the dungeons.

"Come on, it's been a long day. Let's get you to your dorm so you can meet all your new friends. I'm sure you'll have your own personal entourage in no time." He said smiling down at her. She smiled back even though she wasn't as confident as he seemed to be. She had always had trouble connecting to the other purebloods she knew. They were all so certain that bloodline made all the difference when she had been taught that it meant nothing. Her mom was constantly telling them how a person treated others that determined their worth. She liked to believe she was worth a whole heck of a lot given how often she'd refrained from putting Malfoy in his place. She may just have evened it out, however, given the amount of times she gave in to the impulse.

As they walked deeper into the dungeons a figure began to take shape leaning against a seemingly empty expanse of wall. The prefect from before stood impatiently drumming his fingers against the wall waiting for the last of his charges to arrive so he could go about his business.

"Finally decided to grace us with your presence Blastiline?" He asked with a sneer. Baylin smirked in return causing Roxy to roll her eyes heavenward. Leave it to her brother to get into an argument on the first night of school… twice.

"Baylin, let it go and go back to your dorm. I heard what you had to say and you made sure I arrived safely to my house. Now leave." Roxy said with a pointed look that told him just how much she would rat him out to mom if he continued. He glared but nodded and turned to leave ignoring the barb the prefect threw, much to Roxy's relief.

"It's not on good taste to taunt a leaving opponent. Especially When his sister is right next to you, and very close to a vast amount of people in the ministry that you will want to impress very soon. It would be a pity if you were unable to procure a job because of stories getting out about you demeanor." Roxy's smile was filled with the knowledge that she had far more power than the 6th year before her. His answering glare was vicious but he bit his tongue. He turned to the wall and growled out the password. Vipera, Latin for snake, how creative. Roxy laughed quietly to herself as she followed the prefect inside. He pointed her up to her dorms and then left for his own.

Roxy looked at the names on the door and smiled as she recognized most from the parties her family attended. There seemed to be quite the commotion coming from the other side of the door causing her to worry at what she was getting into. She entered the room unnoticed as every one of the girls, save a little brunette in the corner, were fighting over where to sleep it seemed. Snippets of 'No, you sleep next to it' and 'gross! No way, you!' Roxy was highly confused until the word mudblood was shouted into the mix.

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Shannon turned toward the door at the sound of a new voice. A tiny dark hair girl stalked from the door. She came closer to the group of girls and continued in a quieter, but no less angry tone. "Monsters use that word, monsters and murders." She stood next to the bed no one wanted. "Now, go to bed. We have classes in the morning and falling asleep in class will lose points." She heaved her trunk up onto the bed and smiled at Shannon.

"Go to sleep." The girl said quietly as the others griped. "The first day is the hardest, according to my brother." She slid the curtains shut and when she reappeared, she was in her pajamas. She moved her trunk off the bed and crawled under the covers.

Shannon sat on her bed and watched the dark haired girl settle in for the night. One by one the bed curtains on the other beds closed. Part of Shannon was annoyed that this girl had interfered with the situation… but another part was relieved that at least she didn't have to worry about one dorm mate. However, one thing was inescapably clear; Shannon was not going to make any friends this way.

Roxy settled in for the night and turned over to fall asleep. She frowned as she realized she had inadvertently just cause another scene in front of her classmates. She gave a sigh as a final thought crossed her mind before sleep claimed her. She was never going to make friends.


End file.
